The July 2022 mail policy in Missouri prisons bans all physical mail from coming into facilities. Instead, all letters, photos, and other mail must be sent to a third party in Florida that uploads the digital scans of documents for residents to view. We spoke with Patricia, Adam, and Terrell, who are incarcerated in Missouri, about the damage these policies mean for incarcerated individuals already facing harsh policies and inhumane living conditions. Listen to the podcast to learn more.

Liberation Lit sent Ronald Quiceno, incarcerated at Hutchinson Correctional Facility, a copy of “Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System: by Alec Karakatsanis. He wrote us this letter to tell us what he thought of the book.

I’m Devon Westerfield, a 29-year-old artist from Independence, Kansas. I am currently incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kansas. It’s been tough for me to endure these living arrangements, and this is only a peek into my experiences with this flawed system that claims to be in place to “correct” criminal behavior. In actuality, I’ve found that so many of us who are incarcerated have been the victims of true criminal behavior perpetrated by a system that claims to help us. I just want to create true change from within these cages and bring about real positive change for those of us in chains. But we can’t do it alone. We need help. 

I’m Devon Westerfield, a 29 year old artist from Independence, Kansas. I am currently incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kansas. For my entire life, I have either been a ward of the state, incarcerated in some sort of facility, or excessively punished and mistreated by the judicial system. Throughout it all, true rehabilitation has never been offered to me.